COMMUNITY FORUM

Toilet won't flush after putting in new one.

I wanted to change the tile in my bathroom in my business since the seal had leaked some on my toilet and was wet under the tile. So I take the toilet out, put down the new tile, re-install the toilet, and the water won't go down. I figure maybe this toilet isn't all that great, so I go to Lowe's and buy a nice new one. Take it home, install it with a new seal, and still the toilet won't flush. I have never had problems with the system before. I have a septic tank that isn't over 5 years old. My knowledge on plumbing isn't all that great, but this problem is driving me nuts. We have had a lot of rain lately, but we have had heavy rain before and it was never a problem, plus it worked fine before I took the old toilet out. I have a sink on the other side of the wall from the toilet and it drains fine. I have had the toilet off and tried pouring water down the toilet drain just to make sure it was going down from there and it is. The water level in the drain is about a foot below the surface of the floor, as I can see it. Why would I be having problems by doing nothing but pulling the old toilet off there? Could there be some kind of vacuum that is causing me this problem? Any help would be most welcome.

Maybe the original seal is cobbled up on the bottom of the toilet. Is it a beeswax seal? Have you turned it upside down and examined from that angle?

(Once when I tiled a bathroomm floor I placed some plastic in the drain hole to stop the odor while I worked on the floor. When I put back the toilet I was distracted by a 5-year old helper and forgot to remove the plastic. I won't do that again.)